Specifications:A highly practical medium telephoto lens with superb delineation and portability. Images are sharp and clear at all apertures. Through computer simulations, the lens has been designed to give beautiful background blur. Since the front lens group does not rotate during focusing special filter effects are not affected.

Very sharp even at 1.8. Fast abnd very quiet AF. FTM. Good build quality

Cons:

Bokeh fringing at wide apertures is clearly visible and could be annoying. AF could be hit and miss sometimes at f1.8.

Half an hour after I got this lens I started thinking of sending it back. I was testing its focus and it was front focusing. I was able to fix this with the microadjustement on the 50D but then ironically it stopped doing this after a short while and had to bring the microadjustement on the camera back to 0.
The purple fringing that shows in the oof part is sometimes annoying. Stopping down the lens to f4 will make the fringing almost totally disappear.
On the positive side, the lens is super sharp even at 1.8 and has nice contrast. The bokeh is not to die for but it is not bad either.
I already have the 70-200 f4 L and I got this one for low light indoor conditions. In terms of shaprness, the 85mm is on par with the L lens at least in the center. But everything else it is not comparable to the L lens (contrast, bokeh, presence of CA, etc).

I've had problems with the AF drive motor [twice] so reliability ain't up to normal 'L' primes IMO
No Lens hood provided - why, they only cost a couple of bucks on Ebay??

If I hadn't had the AF DRIVE PROBLEMS i'D RATE THIS LENS A 10 - HOWEVER the poor build means it only gets 5.
IQ is fabulous - and the lens is as sharp as an 'L' prime from F2.8.
Contrast is wonderful and AF is Very fast when it works, perhaps I was unlucky with my lens.
Compared to the F1.2 'L' 85mm the lens is a real bargain, and one every Canon user should have in the bag.

Mar 19, 2009

marcarisOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Feb 20, 2009Location: CanadaPosts: 4

Review Date: Mar 14, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8

Pros:

Very Sharp, Very Good Colours and Contrast

Cons:

No Image Stabilization

Mar 14, 2009

stargazer78OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 18, 2009Location: United StatesPosts: 383

Review Date: Feb 20, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Very nice bokeh; USM and FTM; Small & lightweight; One of the best lenses for the money;

Cons:

The optional hood isn't particularly nice.

[ Reviewed on an EOS 5D Mark II and Rebel XTi]

Good build quality. The lens is small & lightweight, balances very well on both a Rebel-sized body, and on an 5D body as well. Features ring USM and Full Time Manual Focusing, two very important features in a prime lens. USM is quick and responsive, very silent. There's some play in the focus ring, but otherwise FTM is perfect.

When I first got the lens (originally with the Rebel XTi), I felt it was a bit soft when shooting wide open @ f1.8. Turns out it was back focusing a little. One trip to Canon's Service center made all the difference. The lens is razor sharp in the center, even when shooting wide open. There's a slight loss of contrast when shooting wide open, but it's not a big deal.

However, the lens doesn't really comes into its own until it's mounted on a full frame body. The EF 85 f1.8 is an ok lens for a Rebel, but it is downright gorgeous on a 5DII. The bokeh is beautiful, and the ability to isolate subjects with shallow DoF is amazing. I even like the vignetting effect on full frame --- I often leave it uncorrected because IMHO it adds some mystique to the photos. I'd say that 90% of my shots with this lens are done at an aperture of f2.2 or larger. It's that good.

In my opinion, the 85 f1.8 is one of the best bargains in Canon's lineup. I'd have a hard time finding another lens that offers USM, FTM, a very large aperture, and excellent bokeh all for only $350. For that reason, I rate this lens a 10.

Feb 20, 2009

oajluOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 19, 2008Location: CanadaPosts: 170

Review Date: Jan 30, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

sharp, no distortion, fast speed, solid build.

Cons:

no IS and hood is not included

Jan 30, 2009

StardayOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 21, 2009Location: FinlandPosts: 0

Review Date: Jan 25, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp.

Cons:

None.

I have been using this lens both indoors and outdoors. I find it is very sharp from f 1.8.

This lens loves my 5D. Perfect for head shots. If all you have are zooms this is the perfect 1st prime to cut your teeth on.

Jan 17, 2009

abamOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 25, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 4201

Review Date: Jan 17, 2009

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $350.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

light. sharp. well built. great price. nice FL for portraits.

Cons:

slightly soft at 1.8, but what do you expect for $350?

this is a fine portrait lens. for people who don't need the 1.2 of the 85L (which is most of us), spending 1/6 the price on a nonetheless very sharp prime is a no-brainer.

the build quality is very solid, and the IQ this lens offers even holds up when used on the unforgiving 5DMk2.

not much else to say, besides, if you want a high-quality portrait lens, and the 135L is too long for your purposes, you might want to give this lens a long look.

cheers.

Jan 17, 2009

rfwilliamsOfflineBuy and Sell: On

Registered: Oct 12, 2006Location: N/APosts: 19

Review Date: Dec 23, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $325.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

A very fine lens for the $. Beutiful Bokeh.

Cons:

None..

I bought this lens shortly after buying a 100mm f/2 that I fell in love with. This lens was no disappointed. Some of my best work, I have taken with this lens.

For what you pay for this lens, you cannot go wrong. If Canon put these exact optics in a L lens body with weather sealing, it would bring several hundred dollars more and would probably be a better seller. You just cannot go wrong with this lens.

That being said, I whole-heartedly believe that the 100mm f/2 is just a tad better lens. So if you are looking for one of these fine 85mm f/1.8 lenses and run upon a 100 f/2 at a bargain price, consider the 100mm also if it fits your focal range. These two sibling lenses are an absolute bargain as far as optical quality is concerned.

Dec 23, 2008

Peter KirkOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Sep 25, 2004Location: AustraliaPosts: 309

Review Date: Dec 7, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Light and sharp, inconspicuous.

Cons:

none

a wonderful portrait lens

Dec 7, 2008

Gilbert75photoOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Nov 7, 2008Location: CanadaPosts: 0

Review Date: Nov 18, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $360.00
| Rating: 9

Pros:

Excellent image quality, fast AF, excellent quality/price ratio!

Cons:

Expensive... see below what I mean by that...

I bought the lens 3 months ago, after reading all those good reviews... I had rented the well-reknowned 85 1.2L for weddings, and found that the 1.2 aperture wasn't easy to use, the DOF being so thin... Close portraits at f1.2 end up in keeping maybe 1 out of plenty since it's hard for the AF to differentiate the lashes from the iris, and many times the eye itself is out of focus... And you can't see where the focus is in the viewfinder anyway... So f1.8 was wide enough for me!

The lens is very good at f1.8, and "L" sharp at f2.8!

The only problem is that after buying this lens, I couldn't use my old 28-105 II USM anymore... You get used quite quickly to the nice contrast, the control on the DOF and superb definition of the 85mm... It's why I say it's an expensive lens because having it in your bag leaves you with no other choice than buying "L" zooms... Went out and got the 24-70 2.8L... Damn... Am I looking forward to get the 70-200 f,4L IS? Yes...

Highly recommended!

Nov 18, 2008

zshaftOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Aug 31, 2008Location: JapanPosts: 5

Review Date: Nov 18, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

VERY SHARP, lightweight, not expensive lens, USM, EF lens.

Cons:

not L built.

well, i have this lens with the hood attached (not incld.) for about 2months on my 400d & 40d, and i feel really happy n satisfied about how it works n produce very sharp images (once again, very sharp!) all the way.
i always use it for candid portrait on weddings/other parties.
the range is also suitable. not too far, not too close with the object.

in low light condition, putting the aperture to f/1.8 doesnt make me worried about the quality; not noisy.
the bokeh is also excellent.

so, i recommend this lens for medium-tele portrait (esp.candid) for anyone with (not-so-high)budget.

using this on FF will make things better!
no doubtful, just GO FOR IT !

I highly recommend this lens to all the portraits, products, macro lovers out there, it is a very nice lens, reasonably priced and everyone can afford it.

I've been using it for few years, done a lot of beauty shots and fashion with it and it always deliver an amazing indoors and outdoors, all my client were very pleased with their pictures, thanks to this baby

After shooting this lens on a 5D for a few shoots, I feel I can now comment on it.

It is a tremendous portrait lens. I definitely recommend it for that, no doubt. Super sharp.

The one drawback for me was a decent amount of chromatic aberration that I noticed, more than on any other lenses I've used. It didn't detract much from the image quality, and I could correct it, but it was an annoyance.

This is a smaller size than the original, but it still shows the incredible bokeh and amount of detail on can get with this lens.

I have not used it on my 20D yet, so I can't comment on how it performs on a crop body.

Aug 28, 2008

mihind24OfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Apr 24, 2008Location: United StatesPosts: 491

Review Date: Aug 26, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $380.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Price, speed, focusing, size

Cons:

Chromatic aberrations

I've never been much of a pixel peeper. Today I took some shots at different apertures with this lens. They appeared very sharp when looking at them. Then I zoomed into 100% crops. HOLY COW! The 100% crop looks as sharp as a regular image. I would have absolutely no hesitation printing a 4x6 of a 100% crop from this lens. Realistically, not often that I need that much of a crop from a 85mm on a 1.6 camera, but nice to know that rare option is out there.

I've used this lens before to construct a big stitched image, and no doubt will continue to do so. Amazingly sharp!

Oh, and the focusing. Wow is it fast. With a 40D and this lens it still focuses well except in absolute darkness. I almost feel guilty paying less than $1500 for the combo. It feels like I have pro level AF!